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After Thyroid surgery
My husband is to have his thyroid removed totally. I would like to know if anyone has had their's removed and if so what are we to expect his life to be like. He has a goiter that is so big that it extends into his chest and is pushing his esphogus to the left.No question it has to come out. Any advise would be wonderful. Cookie
I had a TT in September 2007. My thyroid and goiters were not as big as your husband's, but there was pressure on my esophagus and I struggled a little with swallowing. The biggest worry post surgery will be your husband’s calcium levels and possible infections. Secondarily, they will worry about vocal changes.
Long term, will depend on what they find during the surgery. If he has thyroid cancer a treatment will be prescribed.
I was fortunate enough to not have thyroid cancer, though they were quite surprised I did not based upon all the pre-surgery labs and tests. After the surgery, there will be some time spent trying to get your husband’s thyroid replacement medication just right. During the period they are trying to get the meds right, he needs to remain patient. Every time they adjust the dosage, it takes about 6 weeks for the body to adjust. He will not feel the effects immediately, but gradually over time. Once they do get the meds right though, he should feel well and pretty close to his old self.
The only other thing I have noticed post surgery is that I find my immune system is not quite what it used to be. I seem to get sick more easily than before. I am now taking lots of vitamins and what not in order to boost my immune system.
Good luck with the surgery and I wish you and your husband all the best. Please continue to check back to this forum. There is a lot of knowledge and good people here.
Long term, will depend on what they find during the surgery. If he has thyroid cancer a treatment will be prescribed.
I was fortunate enough to not have thyroid cancer, though they were quite surprised I did not based upon all the pre-surgery labs and tests. After the surgery, there will be some time spent trying to get your husband’s thyroid replacement medication just right. During the period they are trying to get the meds right, he needs to remain patient. Every time they adjust the dosage, it takes about 6 weeks for the body to adjust. He will not feel the effects immediately, but gradually over time. Once they do get the meds right though, he should feel well and pretty close to his old self.
The only other thing I have noticed post surgery is that I find my immune system is not quite what it used to be. I seem to get sick more easily than before. I am now taking lots of vitamins and what not in order to boost my immune system.
Good luck with the surgery and I wish you and your husband all the best. Please continue to check back to this forum. There is a lot of knowledge and good people here.
This has changed my life but not enough to make the quality of it unlivable.
The biggest change is in needing to take the hormone replacement pill every morning and doing that in a consistent manner. Plus needing to go to a dr more often to get monitored. But I never had to do either before so that's new to my life.
Other than that I do need to make sure I take care of myself in a healthy manner. Doing the usual: eat right; exercise moderately; get plenty of rest; etc. But these are things to be doing anyway.
The thing that keeps me going is the thought of being free from the problems I had before, some I didn’t even realize were related. Also, being spared of what potentially could have been in the future.
I wish your husband well as he goes through this process. As said above, this forum has a lot of folks who have gone through the same thing and we are always here to lend support and feedback.
Best wishes and good luck, really.
The biggest change is in needing to take the hormone replacement pill every morning and doing that in a consistent manner. Plus needing to go to a dr more often to get monitored. But I never had to do either before so that's new to my life.
Other than that I do need to make sure I take care of myself in a healthy manner. Doing the usual: eat right; exercise moderately; get plenty of rest; etc. But these are things to be doing anyway.
The thing that keeps me going is the thought of being free from the problems I had before, some I didn’t even realize were related. Also, being spared of what potentially could have been in the future.
I wish your husband well as he goes through this process. As said above, this forum has a lot of folks who have gone through the same thing and we are always here to lend support and feedback.
Best wishes and good luck, really.
I also had my thyroid removed. The surgery went well with almost no pain afterwards. I lost 2 parathyroids and the remaining 2 were "stunned". They have not resumed working, so I now take calcium supplements. Depending on his pathology he may be advised to get radioactive iodine (RAI). He will be on thyroid medication for life.It is very manageable. Good luck.
Trish
Trish
I've had my thyroid removed but am not a male. For me I have issues still under concern. You might want to join a thyroid group in your state. They often can put you onto other people in the same situation.
I can say though that my goiter did a similar thing and it was almost impossible to breathe without looking like a goldfish out of water. Eating was a night mare too. I had an almost S-bend in my throat. So I can sympathise with him!
What in particular would you like to know about? What medication he'll need, how the surgery will go, what it will be like post-op.. etc?
Let us know how it goes.
I can say though that my goiter did a similar thing and it was almost impossible to breathe without looking like a goldfish out of water. Eating was a night mare too. I had an almost S-bend in my throat. So I can sympathise with him!
What in particular would you like to know about? What medication he'll need, how the surgery will go, what it will be like post-op.. etc?
Let us know how it goes.
Many many people on this forum have had their thyroids removed. Myself, I have had half removed, and now have to have the other half removed.
The surgery wasnt bad at all. My neck and shoulder area were sore and stiff for a while (maybe four days or so). My throat was super sore for a couple of days from the intubation. The incision was painful for maybe a day. I never filled my prescription for pain meds, over the counter tylenol was more than enough, and even that I just took to help with sleeping the first couple of nights.
I dont know what life w/o a thyroid is like yet. But your husband will have to be on thyroid meds for the rest of his life. From what I understand, it is difficult to get the dose just right, but once is right, things are usually just fine.
There is also the option of a more natural thyroid drug called Armour. I dont know much about it, but some people who do not do well on Synthoid (thyroid hormone) do well on on Armour.
Please keep us updated on how your husband is doing. There is plenty of support available here for him!
The surgery wasnt bad at all. My neck and shoulder area were sore and stiff for a while (maybe four days or so). My throat was super sore for a couple of days from the intubation. The incision was painful for maybe a day. I never filled my prescription for pain meds, over the counter tylenol was more than enough, and even that I just took to help with sleeping the first couple of nights.
I dont know what life w/o a thyroid is like yet. But your husband will have to be on thyroid meds for the rest of his life. From what I understand, it is difficult to get the dose just right, but once is right, things are usually just fine.
There is also the option of a more natural thyroid drug called Armour. I dont know much about it, but some people who do not do well on Synthoid (thyroid hormone) do well on on Armour.
Please keep us updated on how your husband is doing. There is plenty of support available here for him!
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